"I plan on continuing on the school board," Akers said Tuesday morning over the phone. "I don't think there's a statutory requirement that I can do one and not the other. They're totally separate entities."

City and district officials confirmed that Akers would be allowed to serve on both elected bodies. But Hillsboro schools spokeswoman Beth Graser said there may be logistical issues if Akers wins his city council bid.

"From a practical standpoint I would think being on both the school board and city council would be difficult," Graser said in an email. "There would most certainly be meeting conflicts in addition to the significant time commitment both would require for packet review, public appearances, committee work, etc."

The school board and city council both meet on Tuesday nights. Many times, the meeting dates alternate weeks, but there are instances where both organizations meet on the same night – for example, on Nov. 18, the city council and school board both have a meeting.

The city's transportation committee – comprised of three city councilors – also meets on Tuesday nights, on weeks when the full council doesn't meet. So Akers would likely not be able to serve on that committee.

Akers, an accountant and business consultant, says he has the time to do both jobs.

"I'm more self-employed now, so I can kind of flex my schedule to whatever I want it to be," Akers said. He has done work for the cities of Portland and Vancouver, Portland General Electric and Clean Water Services.

Akers has lived in Hillsboro for 37 years. He's been on the school board since 2011 and has also served on the city's budget and audit committees.

He is running for city council, he said, because he wants to "recalibrate some of our spending" and increase transparency at the Civic Center.

"The city government's responsible for those basic services," he said, referring to streets, police, fire and water. "And we don't want to outrun ourselves."

He called ideas like the planned community recreation center on 53rd Avenue "good projects, but it's just a matter of prioritizing your spending."